Water-cooler for refrigerators.



I F. E. RANNEY. WATER COOLER FOR REFRIGERATORS.

APPLICATION HLED SEPT-16.1915.

Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

V mamas.

FREIERICK E. RANNEY, 0F GREENVILLE, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR T0 RANNEY REFBIG: ERATOR COMPANY, OF GREENVILLE, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

WATER-COOLER FOR REFRIGERATORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 27, 191W.

Application filedieptember 16, 1915. Serial No. 50,969.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK E. RAN- NEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Greenville, in the county of Montcalm and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Water-Coolers for Refrigerators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had'to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this 7 specification.

This invention relates to improvements in water coolers for refrigerators and consists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The object of the invention is to provide a water cooler which shall be efficient for cooling the water, which shall be capable of supplying the cold water without opening the refrigerator, and thus allowing the entrance of the outside warm air, and which shall be readily and easily cleaned so as to always be in a sanitary condition. Another object of the invention is to provide a cooler which shall take up a minimum of the cubical contents of the refrigerator itself. Still another object of the invention is to provide a cooler so connected to the refrigerator that a stock refrigerator may be supplied either with or without a water cooler.

These objects and the many advantages of my improvement will appear more clearly as I proceed with my specification.

Referring now to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view representing in perspective a refrigerator provided with my improved water cooler.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale showing the ice compartment of the refrigerator shown in Fig. 1 with the ice compartment door in open position and the water cooler attached thereto as will presently be described.

Fig. 3 is a view representing a vertical section through the ice compartment door with the water cooler attached thereto.

Fig. 4 is a view representing a transverse section through the ice compartment door and the water cooler in a plane indicated by the line 4-4 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 5 is a detail view on an enlarged'scale of the hinge adapted to be used with the door to which my improved water cooler *is attached.

Referring now to that embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings :10 indicates a refrigerator provided with my improved water cooler. The said refrigererator may be of any construction and as shown comprises a box having hinged doors 11, 12 and 13, which give access to the usual compartments in its interior. The door 12 gives access to a compartment below the ice cooler compartment while the door 13 gives access to a vertically extending compartment running the full height of the refrigerator and adjacent to the ice compartment.

The door 11 opens into the ice compartment 14 (see Fig.- 2) containing the usual block of ice 15.

16 indicates the tank of my improved water cooler which is attached to the innerface of the ice compartment door 11. The

door 11 has the usual panel member 17, and an outer finishing frame member 18 which projects beyond the panel member to provide flanges 19 that close against the front face of the refrigerator.

20 indicates a frame attached to the inner face of the panel member 17 Said frame is in the form of a squareshaped U, arranged bottom upward, and provides the rabbet at the top and sides of the door for engagement within the wall opening that constitutes the entrance to the ice compartment.

The inner face of the panel 17 and the sides and inner edges of the U-shaped frame 20 are lined by means of a sheet of metal 21 (preferably made of galvanized iron) which is bent and cut to cover the same, a reinforcing strip 22 being added across the top of the U-shaped frame to cover the parts not covered by the single sheet 21.

The tank 16 may be made of any suitable or usual heavy material. It is in form like the segment of a cylinder and its height is nearly equalto the distance from the bottom ends of the frame to the bottom side of the top member of said frame. Said tank has a flat upright wall 23 which is located next to the sheet metal covering 21 of the panel 17 ofthe door and a curved wall 2 1 which extends somewhat beyond the plane of the inner face of the frame 17. Said tank also has a bottom wall 25 which is inclined from its outer curved edges downwardly toward one point, preferably the middle of the side next the door panel, where it is provided with a discharge aperture 26. Said aperture is threaded and the threaded inlet end 27 of a faucet 28 is secured within said aperture. The faucet-end extends through openings formed in the wooden parts of the door. The tank is preferably lined with porcelain so as to be capable of being easily cleaned. The upper end of the tank is closed by a removable sheet metal lid 29 having a vertical flange 30 for engagement within the circular upper end of the tank and a handle or catch 31 to be grasped when removing it.

The tank 16'is supported in position by means of a shell 32 made of sheet metal and bent about the curved wall of the tank and attached at its margins to the upright side members of the frame 17. The upper edge of this sheet metal'covering is turned over to provide a reinforced supportingmim 35 which engages under a horizontally extending flange or rim 36 formed on the cast metal water tank. The shell 36 is provided with a bottom wall 37 that is engaged with a flanged strip 38 that is attached to the bottom ends of the frame 20. The two together cover the entire bottom wall of the tank 16.

As the outer surface of the tank is unfinished and more or less rough, the sheet metal shell does not come in close contact therewith, so that water of condensation collects between the outer surface of the said tank and the said shell. In order to drain this water of condensation, an opening 39 is provided in the bottom wall 37 of the shell 38 near the flange 38 on the strip 38, and

said flangeis bent inwardly so as to direct any water that flows from the protecting shell, into the bottom of the ice,compartment, from whence it will flow through the usual channel provided in the ice compartment for the drainage ofwater.

The door 11 of the ice compartment is preferably made detachable from the refrigerator body and in Fig. 5 I have illustrated a hinge for use with said door. 40 in dicates the hinges of the ice compartment door, said hinges each comprising leaves which are preferably connected by means of a loose pin 41. By making the construction in this way, the refrigerator may be provided with the water cooler or not, depending upon the order to be filled, it being only necessary to replace the door shown in the drawings with the regular stock door of the ice compartment, in case the cooler is not desired. This is of particular advantage in the sales room, as it is not necessary to have on hand both a set of refrigerators equipped with coolers and a set without, but simply to have extra sets of doors for the refrigerators, some provided with the water coolers and some not. If desired, the door with its hinges may be made detachable from the refrigerator, as a lighter hinge may be employed With a door which does not have a water cooler attached to it.

It will be manifest that the improved water cooler may be easily flushed out to clean it and may be filled with water quickly so as not to require the ice compartment door to be open for any considerable length of time. The provision of the U-frame to provide the rabbet about the ice compartment door forms a recess into which a large part of the water cooler extends so that the space in the ice compartment actually taken up by the water cooler is comparatively small and only such as is usually left when the ice-man pushes the block of ice back into the compartment, while at the same time a water cooler is provided of sufficient cubical contents to furnish all the water required for the ordinary family without the necessity of too frequent refilling of the cooler.

In addition, when the ice door is open, the cooler, being attached to it, swings with the door entirely out of the way when the ice is to be placed in the ice compartment and the cooler thus presents no obstruction when the ice compartment is being filled.

While in describin my invention, I have referred to certain details of construction, it will be manifest that these may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention, which is in no way limited thereby except as may be pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A water cooler for refrigerators, comprising in combination with the ice compartmentin said refrigerator and a door closing said com artment, said door including an inverted -sha ed frame attached to its inner face to provlde the rabbet for engagement within the opening into the said compartment, a tank located partially within the recess provided by said frame, said tank being arcuate in cross section and having a flat, up-right wall located adjacent to the inner face of said door and having a bottom wall provided with a discharge opening and being open at the top, a thin, metal shell inclosing said water tank on the side adjacent the ice compartment and on the bottom, said shell being attached to said U- shaped frame and providing a support for said tank, means for draining the space be tween said shell and tank into said ice compartment, and a faucet extending through said door into the discharge opening of said tan r.

2. A water cooler for refrigerators, comprising in combination with the ice compartment in said refrigerator and a door alosing said compartment, said door including an inverted U -shaped frame attached to its inner face to provide the rabbet for engagement within the opening into the said 1,220,783 all compartment, a tank located partially Within the recess provided by said frame, said tank being arcuate in cross section and having a flat, upright \vall located adjacent to the inner face of said door and having a bottom vvall provided with a discharge opening and being open at the top, a thin, metal shell inclosing said Water tank on the side adjacent the ice compartment and on the bottom, said shell being attached to said U- shaped frame and providing'a support for said tank, means for draining the space between said shell and tank into said ice compartment, a faucet extending through said door into the discharge opening of said tank, 15 and a removable lid adapted to close the open top of said water cooler.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention I aifix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 20th day of 20 August A. D. 1915.

FREDERICK E. RANNEY.

\Vitnesses:

EDWIN R. CHRISTENSEN, CLAUD V. COATS. 

